Kauto Star's retirement has rightly dominated the news this week and while champion trainer Paul Nicholls reflects on a horse of a lifetime he is also looking for his next Gold Cup winner - and hopes, in time, Silviniaco Conti could be that horse.

Today, the six-year-old gets his season underway in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby. When we last saw him, he looked the real deal in signing off a promising novice campaign with a scintillating victory over three miles at Aintree.

I was lucky enough to spend a few days with the champion trainer recently and Silviniaco Conti is held in high regard by all the staff at the yard.

"He worked nicely on Thursday so we'll let him run and see how we get on," said Nicholls.

"We have to go somewhere and this is a good place to start him off. He's done enough work, but some of ours are needing a run and some aren't, so it's a job to tell.

"He's in great form and if the ground is good to soft that will be perfect."

Ridden by Ruby Walsh, he races five rivals, amongst them is Planet Of Sound who is also a exciting prospect for the season ahead.

Wetherby Racecourse staff deserve plenty of credit, as five years ago when they relined the track due to the work on the A1, a lot of trainers weren't happy with they way the track was riding, but recently, after a lot of hard work, jockeys report it back to its very best and that has been backed up with the quality of the entries.

Talking quality, its great to see Donald McCain letting Overturn take his chance in the opening novices' chase.

The fantastic dual-purpose performer usually sets a fierce pace in his races and could be some sight if his jumping stands up to the test over Wetherby's stiff obstacles.

McCain reports the eight-year-old's schooling to have gone perfectly well, but that is not easing his worries ahead of his weekend outing.

"I wouldn't say I was looking forward to it. We've been looking for a reason not to do it but up until now, we haven't found one," said McCain.

"He's in good form and everything has gone grand.

"The ground shouldn't be too bad and we'll just have to see what happens. I'm not sure I'll be watching much of it!"

Another talented horse on show this afternoon is the Malcolm Jefferson's trained Cape Tribulation who plundered valuable handicaps at both the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals and is a very interesting runner in the West Yorkshire Hurdle.

The eight-year-old should have a fitness edge over this weekend's rivals having finished a close second on the Flat at York last month and can keep some of the valuable prize money in Yorkshire.

Jefferson said: "He's in good order. He ran very well at York and has ticked over nicely since then, so we'd be very hopeful.

"It should be nice ground and we'll see about what we're going to do for the rest of the season after tomorrow."